Bronson woman recovering after car crash

Thursday

Dec 6, 2012 at 10:19 AMDec 6, 2012 at 10:19 AM

By Jamie Barrand

jbarrand@thedailyreporter.comBRONSON — All Samantha Stayner wants is to be able to sing again.The 30-year-old Bronson woman, who was critically injured in an Oct. 13 automobile accident, remains in Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids. She is the lead singer of popular local band Shattered Innocence, and because her injuries involved her neck and she has had to have breathing tubes in her throat, doctors aren't sure she will ever be able to sing again."They told us she'd fully recover, but that it would be a long road," said Stayner's sister-in-law Lori Stayner. "What they're concentrating on right now are the brain injuries … she injured the part of her brain that controls her breathing, so she still has a trachea tube. I think her biggest concern is whether or not she can sing again."Bob Hout plays keyboards for Shattered Innocence. He met Stayner a couple of years ago."She's got a very bubbly personality and she's a dynamite singer and a very sweet girl," Hout said.Stayner and her husband Jason are the parents of three boys — Caleb, 13; Elijah, 10; and Carson, 8.The accident in which Stayner was injured occurred on Central Road east of Batavia Road in Bethel Township. Stayner, 30, was driving a Ford Focus westbound when she lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree.Stayner and her son Carson were trapped in the car. They were extricated by personnel from the Bronson and Lakeland fire departments.Both were taken to the Community Health Center of Branch County and later transferred to Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, where Carson was treated and released.Alcohol was not a factor in the crash. Seat belts and child restraints were in use at the time of the accident.Stayner will likely be released from the hospital in the next couple of weeks, but will still require in-home care.A benefit to help with those and other expenses is planned for Saturday. The event will take place at the Bronson American Legion, 131 York St., and will begin at 9 a.m.The all-day benefit will include a rummage sale, bake sale and silent auction. Later in the evening local bands, including Shattered Innocence, will perform (admission will be $5 at the door after 6 p.m.). Also taking the stage will be Meccabone and Mystimeanor.Hout has been taking lead singer duties in Shattered Innocence during Stayner's absence."We haven't really played much since the accident," Hout said. "We've canceled a lot of gigs. We're not really Shattered Innocence without Sam. Our hook is that we have her as our lead singer … she's so versatile. She sings country, classics and rock."Stayner had big plans. She was hoping to appear on the television talent show "The Voice," and had also planned on trying to get on a talent show put on by talk show host Ellen Degeneres."She didn't get to do those things because of the accident," Hout said.Hout keeps in regular contact with Stayner via text messaging."The doctors are telling her she won't sing again," Hout said. "They told us she wouldn't he able to peep a word for a year. But we'll see."For more information on Saturday's benefit, call (517) 317-2934 or (269) 832-9492.